By Hao Jingfang

Head of Zeus, out now

Can understanding the past really help shape the future?

Hugo Award-winning Hao Jingfang’s debut novel (translated by the indefatigable Ken Liu – does he actually sleep?!) adds another name to the current pantheon of intriguing Chinese science fiction writers.

It centres around Luoying, a student sent from Martian society as part of a group to spend five years on Earth who returns to her home world and starts to question the values and actions of that society. The parallels in the systems to our current world – or at least the one pre-COVID 19 – are clear, but this is no political diatribe in favour or against any particular creed. Rather, in the way that Ada Palmer’s novels look at society, it’s an examination of the core ideas from which those flow, although more in the way of commentary than forensic criticism.

Hao takes her time, allowing you to get to know many of the characters well as the plot develops at a sometimes glacial pace. The world-building is intricate (glass buildings on Mars because they only had sand to work with, for example), and are matched by some of the ideas on display.

Vagabonds is a long novel (actually two novels on original release in China), but worth the time spent on it. There’s potential for a sequel – and I will be interested to see where Hao takes the characters.

Verdict: A philosophical Chinese SF novel that poses some intriguing questions. 8/10

Paul Simpson